Categories
Foothills Nature Preserve

Projects Accomplished

Following are some representative projects taken on by the Friends of Foothills Preserve.

Removal of Invasive Weeds

The Friends cleared or reduced invasive weeds from the following locations:

Vista Hill – invaded by Yellow Star Thistle

Wildhorse Valley – non-native thistle (Yellowstar, Italian, and Milk) had taken over

Hairpin turn behind the Interpretive Center – after a fire more than ten years ago, Yellowstar Thistle thrived

Bottom of #2 hill – this area had been a forest of enormous French Broom

Boronda Lake – at one time the lake was threated with water lilies, The Friends removed them

Boronda Lake Island – lessened non-native plants and poison oak

Grass strip leading to Gate 1 – this is an ongoing project of Yellowstar Thistle removal

Trail Maintenance

Ongoing – remove poison oak from trails

Bench at top of Toyon Trail – built needed steps from the trail to the bench

Carpentry and Painting

Redwood Rest Seats – built and installed over 20 seats on hiking trails throughout the Preserve

3D model of park in Interpretive Center – after it had fallen into disrepair, restored the model and set it up in the center

Moon Bridge – after the landing for the bridge had badly rotted, rebuilt it

Garden outside of Interpretive Center – rebuilt benches, facilitating outdoor meetings

Kiosk at Baylands Duck Pond – while not in Foothills Preserve, the kiosk was designed and built in the Foothills Preserve shop

Lettering on trail signs – repainted lettering on 150 trail signs that had become unreadable


If you would like to assist the Friends of Foothills Preserve, please Volunteer or Contact Us!

Categories
Foothills Nature Preserve

Foothills Park Nonresident Policy Change

At a meeting on November 3, 2020, the Palo Alto City Council abolished a 1965 policy restricting access to Foothills Park to Palo Alto residents, by a vote of 5-2. For more information, see the article in Palo Alto Online.

Effective December 17, 2020, Foothills Park will be open to the public. The Palo Alto residency requirement will no longer apply.